


Our Last Hope

by dylanobemineforever



Category: American Assassin (2017), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, American Assassin - Freeform, Apocalypse, Dylan O'Brien - Freeform, F/M, Pre-The Maze Runner, The Maze Runner - Freeform, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-27 16:03:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21394882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dylanobemineforever/pseuds/dylanobemineforever
Summary: What are the odds that Mitch Rapp, a former black ops agent of the CIA, and Y/N, a freshly graduated medical major, can fight through the worst catastrophe in human history and hold the people responsible for it to account? Maybe even save the world by finding a cure for the vastly spreading deadly virus that was so carelessly brought upon humanity?
Relationships: Katrina/Mitch Rapp, Reader/Mitch Rapp
Kudos: 5





	Our Last Hope

**Author's Note:**

> The world lies in ruins. The government withheld the information that the world would soon face horrendous natural disasters caused by abnormally widespread sun eruptions that resulted in a rise in temperature on a dangerously high pace. The ice caps started melting and within only days were wiped off the face of the earth. Tsunamis crashed onto virtually every coast, resulting in cities like New York being destroyed and buried under tons and tons of water. On different parts of the earth though fires erupted, burning everything for miles and making these places uninhabitable for humans or animals, also because of the extremely high radiation. Virtually half of the population died and the other half is now fighting for their lives. On top of that, a new government has formed, combining the leaders of different countries who have survived. This new government, however, ran out of enough resources to care for everyone who’s left one year after the catastrophes took place. The only logical response in their opinion? A deadly virus that would spread itself through different selected settlements and after a while would die down in effectiveness until eventually it wouldn’t be a threat anymore. In their eyes this was the perfect solution for an attempt of population control which would be relatively humane, given that the virus would work fast and efficient and without any pain. What they didn’t expect though was the virus taking a life of its own, turning humans to some kind of zombies, crazy and out of their minds.

“Great,” you mumbled as you pushed another branch to the side so you could trespass. “Fucking great.” 

  
“Would you stop already?” Mitch huffed somewhere in front of you. The trees and bushes were building a solid web of branches and shrubbery that was hard to get through. They were growing compact enough for you to no longer be able to see Mitch fully in front of you. Only his brown locks peeked through from time to time. 

  
“What? I am just saying how it is!” You back talked as a branch that Mitch had held back slapped right in your face. “Asshole!” You yelled as you rubbed your cheek with your right hand, pushing branches out of your face with your left. “You know this wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t gone back to get your fucking gun!” Anger was still boiling within you. It was Mitch’s fault that the two of you were in this predicament and him ignoring all the problems that he had caused only added to your blood boiling with anger and irritation for the man. 

  
“Without that gun you’d be dead by now, so shut the hell up!” He shouted, voice laced with anger, but you didn’t care. Usually you had always been cautious around the man due to the fact that you thought he was unpredictable and frankly, he could be quite scary and intimidating when he got angry and in his case that happened a lot. 

  
“No, you shut up!” You snapped. “This is all your fault! You’re aware that- “You ducked just in time before another twig could hit you square in your face.“And stop hitting me with branches, you jerk!”

  
“Then, shut up already!” Oh, he most definitely was angry, but news flash, so were you. 

  
Just as you wanted to retort you stumbled over a protruding root and fell through the thicket and landed face down in the mud. Wow, this day couldn’t possibly get any worse, right? A hand came into view, Mitch wanting to help you up, but you swatted it away and got to your feet without his help, dusting off your pants and shirt. You looked around you and saw that you had reached a clearing, trees surrounding you still but it was by far not as bad as it had been before. Behind the tree tops you could see the sun beginning to set, dipping everything in a golden light. It could’ve been a beautiful sight if it wasn’t for the fact that you were still angry beyond ends and with the setting sun also scared. It was only the two of you now and you didn’t have your bags with you nor weapons beside Mitch’s stupid gun. 

  
“Are you coming or what?” Mitch asked you, voice, of course, irritated. 

  
You huffed. “Where to?” You spread your arms out. “We have no fucking idea where we are or where the others are for that matter! The sun is setting and we have nothing to protect us! Besides, what is your idea on the lack of water and food?” 

  
Mitch sighed, he hated to admit it but you were right. Night was coming and there was no telling if your location was safe regarding Cranks or if they were somewhere nearby. “Okay, fine!” He threw his arms up in frustration. “We’re finding a place to sleep and then tomorrow we’ll look for water and food.” 

  
“Thank you, your highness!” You pretended to bow down for him. 

  
“Oh, quit being such a baby!” He scoffed and rolled his eyes at your antics. 

  
“Says the biggest cry baby walking!” You mumbled and hoped that he didn’t hear you. If he did, he chose to ignore it, but you could’ve sworn that you heard him huff something under his breath. 

  
The sun was dangerously low as you still walked around aimlessly. “Where are we going?” You whined. It has been half an hour of the two of you walking around the clearing and Mitch searching for something that he had yet to tell you more about. That’s another thing that you hated about the man: he never talked or said what was going on inside that thick head of his. He seemed like someone who was used to being alone and not having to deal with other people. You could say he was a lone wolf, but for the most part that wasn’t really helpful. 

  
“Here.” Mitch waved you over and you begrudgingly obeyed. 

  
“Here what?” He rolled his eyes again, something that he constantly did while he was around you. 

  
“Our home for the night.” 

  
You looked around you. “Am I supposed to see something here? This looks just like the rest of the clearing! Why did we have to walk for thirty minutes to get here?” 

  
Mitch groaned. “Look up!” 

  
You did as he instructed, looking up a tree that stood before you two. The tree trunk was massive and you could see thick branches littering it from top to bottom. 

  
You shook your head forcefully. “Uh huh, no. Nope. Forget it.” Again, Mitch just rolled his eyes as he reached up for the first branch, shirt lifting up a little, enough for you to see his happy trail which, even though for the most part you found the man beyond irritating and infuriating, you couldn’t help but stare at. 

  
With ease Mitch heaved himself up and readily took hold of another branch, which to climb up wasn’t a big challenge for him either. Eventually, he sat at least ten meters up, looking down at you and gesturing for you to follow him. “I am not doing this!” You shook your head again and crossed your arms in front of your chest. 

  
“Afraid of heights?” Mitch mocked you and now you found yourself to be the one to roll your eyes. Out of all people you could’ve been stuck with it was him. Wow, lucky you. “Fine! Stay down there, not that I care anyway!” He made a dismissive hand gesture and turned away from you. 

  
Stubbornly, you slumped down against the tree trunk, looking up at the sky that was now bathed in a dark blue almost black color. The moon shone bright and the stars lit up the night sky. Again, it could’ve been a beautiful sight if you were in a different situation.

  
With your right hand you wiped the constant layer of sweat off your forehead. Although, the vegetation had quickly recovered in most parts of the world, except for the radiation infested areas which were now mainly deserts, the temperature was still at an all-time high. Your mouth and throat were completely dry and you felt like you would do about anything for a cold glass of water in that moment. If you didn’t find a spring or another kind of water source soon, you wouldn’t last long, especially because of the high temperatures. Maybe it would rain in the next days, but you highly doubted it. The sky was too clear still and it had only rained two days ago, meaning it could take a while before it would rain again, but on the other hand, weather was unpredictable these days, maybe you would be lucky. At least for once. 

  
After a while you could feel your eyelids grow heavy and soon enough you drifted off into your never-ending nightmares. 

  
_“Cranks! Cranks!” People shouted in a muddle. “Cranks!” _

  
_Shouts and screams, fire, chaos. You stood frozen in place as you saw the scenery unfold before you. _

  
_More screams, more shouts, more fire, more chaos. _

  
_“Y/N! Y/N! What the hell are you doing?!” Someone pulled at your sleeve, causing you to snap back to reality. “C’mon! C’mon!” It was Mitch. He started pulling you with him as he started sprinting towards the forest that surrounded the small settlement that you had built up. People running in every direction, also trying to seek shelter in the woods, escaping the fire and the bloodthirsty Cranks. Mitch was a lot faster than you and you could tell that you were holding him back, but his grip on your arm only tightened, refusing to lose you in the ensuing disaster. And then he suddenly stopped, you running into him, but he didn’t even seem to have noticed. You haven’t even reached the forest yet and one quick look at him told you that his mind was running a hundred miles an hour. “Go with the others! Don’t wait for me!” He grabbed both your shoulders, before he just sprinted in the opposite direction. _

  
_“Mitch!” You screamed. “Mitch! What are you doing?!” _

  
_You looked back and forth between the forest and where Mitch was slowly fading away behind the blazing flames and smoke. A groan ripped from your throat as you did the only thing that would save you… well, at least your conscience, so you sprinted off after him. _

  
You opened your eyes, rubbing them as you sat up again. You cracked your neck and stretched. Sleeping on the hard ground had left you sore and aching. You looked up at the sky, seeing that everything looked the same. You didn’t know how long you’d been asleep, but you knew that it would still take a few hours before the sun was coming up again. 

  
“Mitch?” You whisper-shouted as you looked up the massive tree, seeing no sign of the man. “Mitch?” You tried again. 

  
From up ahead you heard a low grumble. “What?” 

  
“Uh, nothing. Just checking if you’re dead yet.” You couldn’t see him, but you were pretty sure that he was rolling his eyes again. 

  
“Funny.” He didn’t sound amused. He never did. 

  
“Y’know you never told me what you did before the sun flares…” It was a weak attempt on your part to keep the conversation going. You didn’t want to go back to sleep, knowing that all sorts of cursed images were sure to haunt you once again. You didn’t want to see their faces, his face – Josh’s face. But you were sure that you would if you closed your eyes again. 

  
“You really want to do this now?” Mitch asked. 

  
“Do what now?” 

  
“You know, talk about our lives before everything went to shit? I pass, thanks.” 

  
“Oh, c’mon, Mitch! We don’t know anything about each other and we’re stuck together. Would be nice knowing that you’re not some kind of serial killer.” You laughed awkwardly, but he didn’t answer and you weren’t sure if that was because he had fallen asleep or because he really didn’t want to talk. “You’re not, right?” You asked a bit more serious. Still no answer. You sighed and stood up, shaking your legs, trying to get rid of the stiffness in them. 

  
“Where are you going?” Mitch asked from above and as you looked up you actually saw him looking down at you. 

  
“So, you were ignoring me?” You remarked, arms crossed over your chest. Even from the noticeable distance between you, you could see him roll his eyes. 

  
“Where are you going?” He repeated. God, this man really had a stick up his ass. 

  
“For little girls, if I may.” You deadpanned. 

  
“Do you want me to come with?” 

  
“God, no, you perv! Why would I want that?” 

  
Mitch shrugged. “Who knows what’s out there?” He pointed to where the forest thickened.

  
“I think I’ll be fine, thanks.” You said as you turned on your heels to walk away from the tree.

  
“Suit yourself.” Mitch answered dismissively and disappeared out of your field of vision again.   
***   
You pulled your pants back up again as you heard leaves rustling somewhere close by. “Mitch?” No answer. “Mitch! This isn’t funny!” You huffed angrily as you walked in the direction of where you thought the noise was coming from. “C’mon, stop that.” A low growl. “Mitch?” Your eyes widened as a dark figure crawled out of the thicket. “Mitch?” It was too dark to tell. “Stop that.” You laughed nervously as you took several steps back. Another growl, more animalistic this time, followed by an ear-piercing shriek. Definitely not Mitch. 

  
You took another hesitant step back and another. You were ready to sprint away as out of the corner of your eyes came another creature crawling towards you. And another. “Mitch!” You screamed while bolting in the direction of where you knew Mitch was. “Mitch!” You screamed louder. You risked to glance back and saw that they were following you. They were fast. Faster than you would have guessed. “Mitch!”

  
“What the hell?” He got up from where he was sitting to get a look at what was happening. All he saw was you hurriedly running in his direction, screaming, away from a bunch of Cranks. “Shit!” Mitch jumped down on another branch and another just as you reached the tree, he grabbed your hand and pulled you up with ease, ushering you to climb up higher while he pulled his gun out and switched the safety off. Mitch was ready to pull the trigger as you screeched.   
“I am fine. I am fine.” You said while holding onto a branch for dear life, apparently having slipped.

  
Mitch took aim and hit two of them straight through the head. A clean shot. As he pulled the trigger again he shot one of them right through the heart. The Crank fell face down in an instant. And then nothing happened as Mitch wanted to pull the trigger for the fourth time on the last Crank. “Shit!” 

  
“Mitch what are you waiting for? Come up here!” You shouted. 

  
The Crank was now nearly reaching the tree and Mitch debated whether or not he could take him. It was only one guy after all, he had been through worse, but then he noticed that more shadowy figures emerged from the shadows of the forest, coming their way on a much faster pace than he would’ve given them credit for. “Shit!” He exclaimed yet again. Hastily he holstered his gun in the back of his jeans and grabbed the next branch to pull himself up. “Bad news,” Mitch began as he reached you. “They brought their friends and I just ran out of ammo.” Your eyes widened in shock, not knowing what that meant for the both of you. 

  
“They can’t climb, right?” You asked hesitantly, afraid to hear the answer. But even though they couldn’t, would they be waiting for you to come down? Would they try to make you come down somehow? Sure enough, you couldn’t stay up here forever. 

  
“I am not sure.” Mitch answered as he looked down, the first hands coming into view. A rotten smell reaching your nose and you had to suppress the urge to vomit. It smelled like they’ve been dead for months. “Again, bad news,” Mitch turned around to look at your anxious expression. “Looks like they can climb.” He said in the most unnerved tone ever. How was he not freaking out?!

  
Your breathing on the other hand got shallower and you felt like you would throw up any second. What would happen if they reached you? And your fear of heights definitely wasn’t doing you any favors either, because you felt your legs shaking and your head spinning. This wasn’t going to end well, you were sure. 

  
“Do you trust me?” You shook your head vigorously. Mitch rolled his eyes, still not bothered by it all. “Guess you have no other choice then, except if you like getting eaten alive.” 

  
“Wow, look who’s got the jokes now.” You said in a weak attempt to hide how incredibly scared you were. 

  
“When I say now, you climb down the tree on the other side and run as fast as you can, you hear me?” You nodded. 

  
“What about you?” 

  
“I’ll catch up with you. Don’t worry about me.” 

  
“What do you wanna – “ Before you could even finish your sentence, Mitch let himself hang off a branch and then he just let go of it. Anxiously you looked down, awaiting to see his lifeless body on the ground beneath you, but instead you saw just in time how he was hanging off another branch, kicking one of the Cranks that was high up the tree already, in its face, causing it to fall off and pull the others down with him, connecting with the ground forcefully. 

  
“Now!” Mitch shouted and you didn’t need to hear it twice. As fast as you could and as fast as your shaky knees allowed you to, you climbed down the tree on the other side as Mitch had instructed. It worked surprisingly well, given that on this side the branches weren’t as far apart. As soon as your feet connected with the ground you bolted into a sprint, leaving all the chaos behind you… but Mitch also. 

  
“I can’t leave him there.” You panted as you came to an abrupt stop. You contemplated your options and once again you decided to run after the man. The whole situation reminded you a lot to the one that got you into this mess to begin with. 

  
_You shielded your nose and mouth with the crook of your elbow, coughing nonetheless as you came closer to the flames. The smoke causing your eyes to water and burn and your lungs to feel like they were on fire too. “Mitch?!” You shouted through the thick layer of smoke. You urged your legs to run faster. “Mitch?” _

  
_Just as you thought you couldn’t take it anymore you broke through the smoke cloud and saw Mitch running into one of the cabins on the other side of the settlement. What the hell was he doing? As soon as you started running again, you saw movement from the corner of your eyes. Cranks that were running in the same direction you were but had yet to notice you. _

  
_You picked up your pace, although your lungs were already aching. “I am here!” You started yelling, so you would attract their attention. _

  
Your heart raced, blood rushing with adrenaline as you ducked behind a bush, waiting for the right moment to jump out and startle them. It was three of them in total and Mitch currently fought off two of them simultaneously. The other one was currently recovering from a blow to his face that apparently had broken or dislocated his jaw, at least it looked rather unnatural in the way it hung down loosely. 

Mitch grunted and was pushed down by one of them, the other instantly hovering over him, non-human sounds leaving their throats as they shrieked. It inched its face closer to Mitch who was struggling to fight himself out of his position, due to the other two holding him down. 

  
Time seemed to slow down as you jumped out from your hiding place, running towards them without really having a plan or even a vague idea of what to do now, so you just threw yourself at them, tearing the one down who was above Mitch and dragging the one beside him down with the two of you. Mitch got to his feet as quickly as humanly possible, grabbed the knife that he had dropped before, picked it up and pushed it through one of their torsos, right through the heart all while you were struggling to keep that insane woman from trying to eat your face. She hissed in your ear, fletched her teeth and screamed the most ear-piercing scream that you’d ever heard. With ease she tackled you to the ground and you desperately tried to reach something -anything- that was hard enough to smash her head in so she would let go of you. Out of the corner of your eye you saw that Mitch was struggling against the other man, but this time it seemed like he had the upper hand. 

  
The woman above you inched her face closer to yours, just like she had done with Mitch, and out of a sudden her eyes seemed to clear. They lost the insanity shining in them, screaming in them, and cleared completely. She looked around her confusedly, before she clutched her head with both her hands, pressing them hard against her temples as if she wanted to squeeze her brains out. Her eyes filled with tears, her lower lip started quivering as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t. 

  
“It hurts.” She muttered, words barley decipherable. “It hurts! Please, please I am beggi-“ She fell forward, face down to your feet. A knife still stuck in the back if her neck as Mitch bend down and pulled it out. Before he tugged it back in his jeans he wiped it on her clothes to get the blood off. 

  
He grunted angrily as he looked at you. “Didn’t I fucking tell you to run the other way!” He shouted. “How come you never listen to what I tell you!?” 

  
“Oh, believe me I listen to all the fucking bullshit you say, asshole! I just choose to ignore you!” You snapped. 

  
“Why are you so insanely stubborn?! I had everything under control until you showed up! You know that this could’ve killed you, right?!” He was still yelling. His face was flushed red with anger and the veins on his neck protruded. Mitch’s eyes weren’t their usual honey brown that you were used to. They were dark, black, and not just because it was still dark out. 

  
“Yeah, right!” You huffed. “If ‘I had everything under control’,” You made quotation marks with your fingers and mocked Mitch’s voice to set him off more. You were pissed that he was pissed that you helped him, just because he could never man up to his fucking mistakes. “Means to nearly get fucking eaten alive, then sure! You are the fucking winner of todays ‘I had everything under control’ because you came so close”, you held your index finger and thumb barley an inch apart and shoved it in his face. “So close of nearly becoming human shish kebab! Con-fucking-gratulations, dickass!”

  
“Dickass?” He mocked you and you were having none of that.

  
“Yes, dickass! Got a problem with that?!” He actually cracked a smile at that, which somehow made you even angrier! “Stop doing that!”

  
“Do what?”

  
“Laughing! Stop ruining my badass fucking retort and turn it into something funny!” He flashed his teeth. “I am fucking serious!” 

  
He held his hands up in fake surrender. “I am not doing anything!” 

  
You rolled your eyes, stepped over the dead body to your feet and walked away from him angrily. “Calling you an idiot would be an insult to all the stupid people!” You mumbled under your breath. 

  
“I heard that!” Mitch hollered from behind. 

  
“You were supposed to!” You shouted back over your shoulder.   
***   
You pulled your pants down your legs and then your shirt overhead, standing there in nothing but your underwear. 

  
Mitch and you had walked around aimlessly for another couple hours and finally had found a lake. The two of you had decided that it was probably be for the best if you would clean your clothes and yourselves, given that you had been in direct contact with the Cranks and you still weren’t sure how exactly the virus transmitted yet. Could be over air or blood. You came in contact with both and needless to say the two of you were a bit tense about the prospect of turning into one of these … things.

  
You slowly stepped into the water. It was warm and not at all refreshing, but that didn’t come as a surprise to you. The water was clear, you could even see the shingles at the bottom from where you were standing, meaning it would be drinkable too. 

  
You inhaled deeply before you dipped your head underwater, blending the whole world out. Everything felt calm and peaceful in that moment. You could see a few fish pass you by and you could hear your own heart pumping in your ears. There were no screams. There were no Cranks. There was no urge to run. Only calmness. Peace. And you could leave the real world behind for a little while. At least until the moment your memories started to haunt you again.   
  
_“I am here!” You shouted. _

  
_Finally, their steps faltered, they started slowing down a bit. One of them cocked its head in your direction and started quickening its pace again. This time running towards you. The others following behind. “Oh, shit!” You made a quick U-turn, hoping that you could lose them in the fire somehow. _

  
_You were ready to run into the thick cloud of smoke again as you heard three shots fire from behind. One look over your shoulder confirmed that the Cranks were no longer following you. Instead they all laid face down in the dirt, limps tangled awkwardly and each had a clean shot right through their skull. _

  
_Mitch came jogging in your direction, looking furious. “What the fucking hell are you doing here?” He nearly yelled. _

  
_“Looking for you, you fucking moron!” _

  
_“I said, go with the others!"_

  
_“And why the hell would I be taking orders from you! Go to hell, Mitch!” You yelled back, face beet red. “At least tell me what you risked your fucking life for!” _

_Mitch huffed, ignoring you as he chose to walk past you, bumping your shoulder in the process. You realized that the only thing that he was carrying that he wasn’t before was his gun and his pockets left no indication as to think that there was something in them. It was the gun. The stupid gun. Your blood started boiling. If you were a cartoon character steam would be coming out of your ears by now. _

  
_“The gun?! You went back for your fucking GUN?!” You screamed at him, taking big strides in order to catch him. “If you tell me you went back and risked your life for that thing I swear I am ripping your fucking head off!” _

  
_Mitch said nothing. He just kept on walking, a stern expression on his face, teeth visibly clenched._

  
_“Mitch!” _

  
_“There are probably more where they came from. We should go and find the others.” _  
***   
Mitch sunk down against the tree trunk next to you. Birds were chirping happily in the trees above your heads and it was easy to forget where you were or why you were there. It actually felt peaceful. 

  
“You okay?” Mitch asked you, breaking the quiet between you two, sounding actually concerned. 

  
You looked at him skeptically. His face was bathed in a few stains of sunlight that had managed to get through the thick tree crowns. His eyes shone golden and they stood in a stark contrast to his weathered face. They were kind and worried. Something that you didn’t think he was capable of. 

  
“I am alive, if that counts…” You sighed. “I was scared today. I was scared we might die.” You answered honestly and without a trace of sarcasm for the first time in what felt like forever. 

  
“I’m either always afraid, or never. I don’t know which one.” 

  
You turned away from him, looking at the calm water in front of you. “Do you know why I am always so sarcastic?” You paused before exhaling heavily. “I am because it helps me deal with everything better. Or at least it’s easier to cope with everything when you tell yourself that it isn’t that serious. That everything’s just a bad joke. That’s why I am rarely ever serious…” You shrugged. “I am not ready to admit yet that everything’s epically screwed up.”   
Mitch stared down at the lake with you, silence filling the air once again. 

  
Eventually, Mitch sighed, reached behind him for his gun. You looked at him confused. “You wanted to know why I went back to get this?” You nodded, still confused about the turn of your conversations. Mitch never opened up to anyone. “This is the only thing that’s left of my old life. And this…” Seemingly out of nowhere he got a hold of a single tiny picture. He handed it to you. It showed him with a beautiful blonde girl, happily smiling into the camera. Seeing this felt like it was taken in another universe, to a different time. So much had changed. So much had happened. Mitch looked happy.

  
“How’d she die?” You asked him as you handed him the picture back. He took it and a sly smile crept on his face. For a long time, the images of her death had hunted him. Never had he thought it possible to look at her face again and smile. Smile because he remembered all the great moments that they had shared together and not thinking of the tragedy that took place only a few minutes after he asked her to share her life with him. 

  
“It happened a few years before the sun flares struck.” Mitch began telling his story for the first time in years. “I actually took this picture seconds after we got engaged. I always used to joke that this vacation was somewhat our honeymoon and Katrina mostly just laughed and rolled her eyes.” Mitch had a fond smile on his face as he began talking about her, a faint glint in his eyes. It took him a long time to overcome her death, but a lot had happened since then and he felt bad for sometimes being glad that she found her end so quickly that day, that she wasn’t there to witness what the world eventually would turn into. He shuddered at the thought of her becoming one of them, a Crank and maybe eventually having to kill her himself. He would rather die than do that, even at her hands. “Whatever… long story short: the holiday resort we stayed in was attacked by terrorists and virtually everyone was killed, Katrina among them.” 

  
Subconsciously you reached for his hand and squeezed it as a sign of comfort. To your surprise he didn’t shrug it off. He even squeezed back. “How’d you cope with it?”

  
Mitch laughed bitterly. “I didn’t. For a very long time I didn’t cope with it at all…” His hand around the gun tightened. “I wanted everyone who did this to her, to me, to suffer for eternity, so they would never be able to do something remotely like that to anyone ever again, so I started to hunt these bastards down. That’s how I coped with it. Retribution.”

  
Silence again. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but you knew that you couldn’t say anything that was good enough to ease his pain. There was nothing you could do and Mitch respected that you didn’t try to comfort him with useless phrases that didn’t help at all. Just you holding his hand was enough. He appreciated it greatly. 

  
“I was in Washington when everything happened…” You broke the silence. You didn’t exactly know why but it felt like the right moment to share something that you needed to get off your chest. “I got a job offer in a hospital there and it was my first day at work and…” You swallowed the lump in your throat that was starting to form as the horrible images flooded your mind once again. “Everything happened so quickly. First the power outages, nothing worked anymore and we lost hundreds of patients just because of that. Then, it got extremely hot, it was hard to breathe. I looked out the window and I remember that everything was bathed in fire. Just like that.” Tears were streaming down your face now. Mitch gave you a look of sympathy. He understood how you felt. One second you think you have it all, the next everything is taken away from you. Just like that. Without a warning. “We evacuated everyone underground, or at least as many as we could, along with as much food and water as we could carry. That’s – That’s where I met him, Josh.” You tried blinking the tears away, but it was to no avail. “Well, long story short, we both made it out of there alive and later found a settlement where we could stay. Little did we know that they were all infected. They were all already sick when we got there.” Mitch tensed beside you. He could already make out where the story was headed. “He got sick, Mitch…” You looked at him. “He told me to leave him. Find a new, safe place to stay… And you know what I did? I left. I fucking left! He was my best friend and I left him to die, just like that! It took us over a year to get there together and I fucking left him to die!” You started to sob violently. The guilt washing over you like never before. Not once have you told this story before and maybe it was something that you needed to tell. You had hoped that it would make you feel better, lift the weight off your chest, but instead it felt like you were just crushed underneath it. You were a horrible person. “And on top of that, my family lived in New York at that time, when the sun flares struck, and they didn’t want me to leave and go to Washington. We argued and screamed at each other and I just left. Just like that. And now they’re all dead and I don’t even remember what I last said to them and maybe I just choose not to because I know that it was something horrible.” It was all too much for you in that moment. Everything came flooding back. Everything that you had successfully stored behind a façade of sarcasm and smiley faces was now crushing through the surface. “I am a horrible person.” 

  
“You’re not a horrible person.” Mitch paused. “I just told you that I killed people and you think you’re the bad person here?”

  
“That’s different. They deserved it… I on the other hand am just a fucking coward… it should’ve been me, not them!”

  
“What the hell are you talking about? Don’t tell yourself these things! That’s just stupid!” You could always count on Mitch to say what was on his mind. He never sugar-coated anything and you were grateful for that. He paused for a short second, worry lines appearing on his forehead. “Is that why you came back for me? Twice? Because you thought you were abandoning me?”

  
You fidgeted with your fingers. “Maybe…” You sighed. “I am afraid of losing you too, Mitch! Okay? I know for the most part we get on each other’s last nerve, but I don’t know… You’ve kinda been there for me ever since I turned up at the settlement and…” You shrugged. “I don’t know…” 

  
Mitch chuckled lowly, trying to lift the mood again. “Are you trying to say that you actually like me?” He bumped your shoulder with his playfully. You didn’t even notice that he had scooted closer to you.

  
“Well, now that I think about it… No, not really. You’re way too annoying!”

  
“Now I am the annoying one?”

  
You nodded and bit your lower lip as you both started leaning in. You didn’t even know how and why, but it happened. Maybe because you were both emotionally overwhelmed and wanted to find comfort in one another. Maybe because you truly felt more for each other than you were ready to confess just yet. You didn’t know, all you knew in that moment was that Mitch’s lips were on yours and that your heart was hammering in your chest like a jackhammer, ready to break free any second.

  
The kiss grew hungrier, more desperate, pretty fast and soon the two of you were just tongues and teeth clashing against each other while your hot wet bodies had somehow found a place in the grass and were now unashamedly grinding against one another.   
Mitch started nipping down your neck, slowly sucking at your pulse point and drawing a strangled moan out of you.   
You raked your nails across his bare back, silently urging him on. Your skin was scorching, his kisses making you light-headed. You titled your chin up to give him better access and he gladly took it as an invitation for more. Suddenly you felt his wet tongue tracing patterns on your skin, leaving your scorching body with goosebumps all over. He started sucking your earlobe and you couldn’t help the breathy moans that escaped your throat. Mitch dug his hand in the flesh on your hips in order to keep you down and expertly positioned himself so that his leg was now between yours and you unashamedly, driven by your primal instincts, started rolling up on it. 

  
“Are you sure?” Mitch asked between kisses, but you were only able to nod, not trusting your voice. 

  
He dipped down for another kiss. This one was much slower and gentle then the ones before that. It felt like he wanted to take his time with you, not rush things. Your brain short-circuited at the feeling of his plump lips on yours and one of his legs between yours. You could feel his erection through his boxers and your back involuntarily arched into him, wanting to feel him even closer. Mitch took the hint and reached behind your lifted back to unclasp your bra. You shrugged the straps off your shoulders and threw the item somewhere next to you. Mitch’s pupils visibly dilated as he admired you laying underneath him. You shuddered, breath hitching in your throat as he connected his mouth with one of your nipples, flicking it with his tongue, causing it to immediately harden at his gentle touches. Meanwhile you were running your fingers through his still wet hair, pulling at the roots softly. Mitch hummed happily, the vibrations sending shivers down your spine and straight into your core. You couldn’t take it any longer. You needed him. Now. 

  
Harsher this time, you pulled him up on his hair, forcing him to let go off your nipples. He gave you a questioning look, but you just flashed him a smile and flipped the two of you over, so that you were now hovering above him. He wanted to say something, but before he could you shushed him with another kiss, then you littered his cheeks and jaw with wet open-mouthed kisses, soon finding his throat, stomach and eventually the waistband of his boxers.   
Mitch lifted himself up on his elbows and quirked an eyebrow at you as you flicked the waistband of his tighter growing boxers, never breaking eye contact. With one swift motion you pulled them down his legs and threw them in the direction where you had also thrown your bra. You licked your lips in anticipation as you saw the precum leaking from his tip. You didn’t give Mitch a warning as your tongue connected with his slit, expertly swirling it around his head. You could see Mitch trying to suppress his moans as he collapsed back to the ground which caused you to smirk and hum around him, waves of electricity shooting through his body at the action. 

  
“Oh my god!” He grunted as you hollowed your cheeks around him and simultaneously started playing with his balls. You put a bit more pressure on him with your tongue, twirling it around his cock while you tried to get as much of him into your mouth as you could. Anything that didn’t fit you started rubbing with your other hand. Mitch reached down, getting a good grip on your hair and pulling it in a makeshift ponytail, guiding you up and down his cock at a much faster pace, fucking your mouth. You happily obliged, ignoring the gag reflex and instead listened to Mitch’s staggered breathing. “So close.”

  
Just as these words left his mouth you could feel him pulsating in your mouth and then a load of cum spattered from his tip, right in the back of your throat, leaving a sweet and salty taste in your mouth. You let go of him with a ‘pop’, a lazy smile playing on his lips. He didn’t say anything, he just got up to his knees, matching your height and kissed you passionately. He could probably taste himself on your tongue in the way that they were rubbing on one another, but he didn’t seem to mind. He hooked one hand behind your head, partly because he wanted to deepen the kiss even further and partly because he started lowering you on your back again, his lips never leaving yours though. 

  
As you were comfortably laying on your back now, Mitch broke the kiss, looked you deeply into your eyes, asking silently if you had any doubts. You hadn’t. You bit your lower lip as his stare set your skin aflame and the anticipation became too much for your liking. In order to get some kind of friction you started to rub your legs against one another. Mitch noticed this and broke your silent staring contest. His fingertips ghosting over your skin, over your perky nipples down to your stomach, sending several shiver waves down your spine and arousal straight to your core. He reached the waistband of your panties, hooked his fingers underneath and pulled them down, leaving you completely naked and vulnerable before him, unprotected under his burning stare.

  
“You’re beautiful.” He whispered into your ear, hovering over you once again. As a reply, you enveloped his lips with yours again as he simultaneously started lining himself up with your slick entrance. You hooked your legs around his waist as he pushed himself in deeper until his pelvis connected with yours. Your nails dug into his back at the feeling of him stretching you. You didn’t remember the last time you had been that intimidate with someone, neither did Mitch, but the two of you fit together like two long lost puzzle pieces.

  
The two of you stayed in that position for a few seconds, until you bucked your hips up, signaling that he could start moving. His movements started out slow, but soon his thrusts became more powerful, leaving you a whimpering and moaning mess underneath him. The sound of skin slapping against skin filled the air, mixed with the songs the birds chirped over your heads.   
Your kisses grew sloppier, so did Mitch’s thrusts as you felt his cock pulsating inside of you once again. 

  
“Close.” He panted. Slick and sweaty bodies grinding against each other hungrily.

  
“Me too.” You managed to say between moans.

  
It didn’t take long after that that the knot within you exploded. You cried out, back arching, pressing your body flush against Mitch’s sticky chest. You felt Mitch’s release spatter from his tip, filling you up.   
For a short moment you swore the world stopped spinning as the after shocks of both your orgasms still rippled through both your bodies.   
Mitch pulled out of you and collapsed onto the grass next to you, scooping you up in his arms, so you could comfortably rest your head on his shoulder. 

  
For the first time in a long time you felt safe. 

  
Wanted.

  
Loved. 

  
You closed your eyes for a moment to absorb the warm sunrays of the sun, breathing in the fresh air, listening to the birds and their songs, to the water splashing on a rock once in a while. Everything was at peace in that moment. 

  
You were no longer scared. At least in that moment you weren’t. You had found solace in Mitch’s arms and he in yours.   
You were there for one another when the whole world was falling and crumbling apart around you.   
You had each other and sometimes that was all that counted.   
***   
“Can I ask you something?” You absentmindedly traced patterns on his torso, following your finger with your eyes. “Why have you never given up? I mean, what was there that kept you going through these dark times?”

  
Mitch thought about it for a short while, looking up at the sky and watching the sun slowly dip down behind the high tree tops. “Sometimes, especially at the beginning, I thought about it, but never for long.” He answered honestly. 

  
“What brought you back?”

  
“Hope.” 

  
“In what way?” You propped yourself up on his chest, looking at his handsome face, following the moles on his cheek with your eyes, connecting them.   
“For change, to make a difference, I guess. For life to be better someday.” He looked down at you, the hint of a smile grazed his features. “I guess, sometimes, hope is the only thing that keeps us going.”

  
“What if we lose it?”

  
“There’s always something, someone to fight for. You don’t just lose hope, you fight for it, because sometimes it’s all that we have left.”

  
You rest your head on his shoulder once again, breathing in his scent and continuing to trace patterns with your finger.   
Maybe life wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe it was really worth fighting for. And maybe you could survive this somehow.

Maybe even together. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is my favorite story thus far! I'm excited to hear what you think and have to say!


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